This is but a tiny thread pulled from the vast tapestry that is plez's World.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Barack Obama & Rev. Wright & Religion

Rev. Jeremiah Wright is the Senior Pastor of Barack Obama's Church in Chicago

The conservative blogger, Crunchy Con, has a long held belief that the Rev. Jeremiah Wright would evolve into a nagging issue for Barack Obama as the campaign progressed. His oft-inflammatory and borderline racist comments could not enhance the image of a guy who was trying to run a political race bereft of racial overtones with an eye to transformational politics. If you call a religious zealot your spiritual advisor, what does that say about you. Crunchy Con goes on to write:

I said that Jeremiah Wright was going to become a big issue for Barack Obama, but I didn't think it would happen so soon. With the release of this video, that time has probably arrived.

Politico describes Wright in this video as "deeply racially confrontational." Which might be an understatement. He rants and rails against "rich white people who run this country," demonizes white people, calls Jesus a "poor black man" oppressed by "Italians," says that Barack Obama "ain't privileged" -- this, even though Barack and Michelle Obama are Ivy-league grads in the top two percent of Americans in income. And so forth. This Wright is a clown.

While doing research for this blog entry, I find that the New York Times is reporting that Barack Obama has denounced the hate speech by his pastor and is taking steps to distance himself from Rev. Wright. He is quoted in the Times as writing the following at The Huffington Post,

"I categorically denounce any statement that disparages our great country or serves to divide us from our allies. I also believe that words that degrade individuals have no place in our public dialogue, whether it’s on the campaign stump or in the pulpit. In sum, I reject outright the statements by Rev. Wright that are at issue."

plez sez: a man with a pen once wrote: "religion is the opiate of the masses" - okay, it was karl marx who wrote that passage in the 1840's... but the thought he was trying to convey still holds true: in our quest to explain the unexplainable, we find solace in our faith. as a presidential candidate in the united states, a candidate has to bend over backward to show that he/she is a god-fearing christian, but when you are bending over backwards with the likes of a buffoon, Obama would be better served to live up to the rumors that he's a muslim (i.e. get your opiates from another source)!

i'd hate to see the Obama Campaign get derailed on some B.S. spewed forth from a ranting lunatic, but that is exactly what will happen if he does not repudiate and move quickly to distance himself from this guy! Barack & Michelle Obama are Ivy League trained lawyers worth millions of dollars, he's one of only one hundred US Senators, and his campaign raised over $50 million last month: ummmm, the Obamas ain't missin' many meals... and they never have! trying to cast Obama as some poor little Black boy against the rich white Clintons just doesn't wash, no more than casting Jesus as the poor Black man being oppressed by the white Romans... step away from the Bible, dude! just put it down.

yo, Barack, i know you're supposed to be a christian and all... but do you have to practice your religion at this wack-job's church?!? we're trying to win a national election here... and having friends and associates who scare white folk ain't the path to the white house!

but this begs an even bigger question: is there a religion that supports a multi-cultural, multi-racial, multi-socio-economic society? aren't most religions based on the fact that their god looks out for his people AND i pity the heathen who would worship another god or diety? don't most religions evangelizes for their god and want everyone to convert to their way of worship? if that is the case, why would a country that professes to separate church from the state be so CRAZY over whether a candidate even practices a particular religion? i'm a member of a church and that church has a pastor, but i'm not inclined to share the name of the church nor the fervor with which i practice my religion... that seems to be a pretty private affair. by the same token, why would rev. jeremiah wright want to broadcast his message to his flock over YouTube? isn't his sermon during his 11 o'clock service only for the parishioners at his church? as you can see, i'd rather he kept his brand of religion confined to his church... and i'm sure that Barack Obama is in rapt agreement!

i began to write this blog post prior to reading about his denunciation of the pastor, but one has to admit, had hillary clinton or john mccain been members of a church where the minister was featured in YouTube clips spewing racial epitaphs and such, they would've had to leave the race! Obama is getting a pass on this one, but he can expect that ALL of his friends and associates (including Rezko) will continue to receive much more scrutiny in the coming weeks.

6 comments:

I am so sick of religion especially christianity being such an issue in politics. I wish all politicians took an oath that they could not divulge their religious beliefs while in office. Religion has no place in government.

That said, Wright is an asshole and at the very least incredibly insensitive. How hypocritical is it to spew hate under the guise of a man of Christ (then again the crusades, Henry the Eight, the Pope and American Presidents have all committed atrocities in the name of Christ). You would think that when someone has seen the type of oppression that Wright has seen and experienced he would be able to empathise and realize that intolerance is the root of most oppression. Barack may not be able to shake the dirt that Wright and Rescoe have left on his backside.

"christian" prophet,since i don't subscribe to YOUR theology, i'm at a loss as to how i'm going to condemn Obama's.

david,brother, we're cut from the same cloth! religion, faith, and one's theology has no place in the presidential conversation... like you, i would've preferred not knowing that lieberman is jewish, or that romney is mormon, or that jfk was a catholic... or that obama is "whatever" is being preached at his church... i just hope the stain of association with rev. wright will fade with his repudiation of wright's words!

I wondered if Rev. Wright was looking for his 15 min of fame. I read in one article where videos of his sermons were for sale. I was hoping that Wright would make a statement, but I think the media is avoiding him. That might be, because he may not be the vile lunatic.